No I don't think they've thrown it away, but like we said long before is does mean differences. And nV having the Xx2 arhitecture still was like, well they have alot of experience with that, so I'm sure they'll make it work fine in the NV40 (they kinda hafta make this product much better than the last). But ATI has little experience with that, and it would likely take a combination of drivers and DX9 updates to bring out the fullness of the core based on all that nV said about it in the past.
But one thing to remember is that like stocks and mutuals, "Past Results are no Guarantee/Indicator of Future Performance". The past is the past, and these are new chips, so it could easilty be and R8500->9700 vs a GF4ti->FX5800 situation, with the actual winners to be determined later.
I don't assume anything is over, heck this isn't even PR, this is still just rumour, despite the fact that alot of the rumours are coming from credible sources. I'm not making any final judgements, just speculation and things that make me go Hmmmm!?!
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